Search

A prospective audit of 221 breast biopsies was carried out to assess the pain/discomfort experienced during image-guided breast biopsies. The only significant factor in pain scores was the size of the needle used. Fine-needle aspiration cytology using a 21-gauge needle was found to cause the most discomfort.

In three studies that employed community-based samples the relationship between personality, marital, and job-related factors and quality of life was examined. Study 1 indicated that hardiness and self-esteem were important components of overall quality of life. The marital communication skills of expressiveness and intimacy were identified as major aspects of overall quality of life in the second study. In Study 3, satisfaction with various job characteristics was related to overall quality of life. These studies start to provide definition to the quality of life concept in terms of personality characteristics, skills, and beliefs that have potential for modification.

The relationships among coping responses, social support, personality factors, and psychological well-being in adults with acute leukemia in remission were studied. The psychological well-being measure was related to quality of life. Forty persons (21 male, 19 female), average age 47 years and average time since diagnosis of 24 months, completed demographic questions, the PRF-E, the Symptom Distress Scale, a Coping Responses inventory, the modified Social Support Questionnaire, and the General Behavior Inventory. An R of .80 was obtained between psychological well-being and Endurance, Affiliation, Cognitive Structure, Autonomy, and Nurturance. Findings were related to fighting spirit and confronting coping style, concepts associated with psychological well-being and longevity in cancer patients.

The present study investigated the use of the MMPI to discriminate between two groups of hotline volunteers: those who after training would become effective interviewers and those who would not. Effective interviewers were defined as those who emitted 40% or more good responses when they were responding to a crisis call. The criterion measure employed was the Therapist Error Checklist. When a specification equation based on standard MMPI scales was used, 91% of effective interviewers and 90% of ineffective interviewers were identified correctly.

Twenty-five hotline workers were randomly assigned to three skill-training conditions. Nine microtraining subjects were trained in the use of attending behavior, open inquiry, and reflection of feeling and content using the standard microtraining paradigm. Seven programmed-learning subjects were trained in the same skills using programmed manuals and role-play interviews with feedback. The remaining nine subjects acted as a no-training control group. Pretraining and post-training interviews and telephone calls with pseudoclients were audiotaped for each subject. Subjects were assessed on empathy, the Therapist Error Checklist, attending behavior, and three modes of skill interaction. For interviews the main effect of training on each measure was significant. Both microtraining and programmed learning resulted in superior interview performance over no-training, and differed little from each other. For telephone calls microtraining resulted in higher empathy ratings than progammed learning or no-training.

Numerous authors have obtained significant, but low correlations between life events and specific health status measures. Even with the inclusion of moderating variables, such as coping, the relationship between life stress and health status measures has rarely exceeded .50. It has been argued that failure to enhance the correlation has occurred because response specificity has not been controlled. A representative community sample of 184 adults from London, Ontario, was surveyed with respect to life stress variables, stress-response specificity, and various illness behaviors. First-order factor analysis of the stress-response specificity measure indicated an emotional/psychological response factor, an eating response factor, a drug/alcohol response factor, and several physical response factors. Second-order factor analysis indicated a psychological response and a physical response factor. Each of the illness behaviors was regressed, in a stepwise procedure, upon the life stress measures and related first- and second-order stress-response specificity factors. As predicted, significant relationships were found between the related stress-response specificity and illness behavior measures. These results support the importance of stress-response specificity as a moderator variable in investigations of the relationship between life stress and illness behavior.

The Leyton Obsessional Inventory was modified into a paper-and-pencil form to facilitate its group administration. Factor analysis was carried out on the modified version replies of 173 college students. The factors obtained were compared to those extracted by Cooper and Kelleher (1973) for the original inventory. Similarities and differences in factors were attributed to cultural factors and differences in the sample populations. The treatment implication of obtaining multiple symptom factors in future studies with obsessional patients was stressed.

The Community Alcohol Use Scale (CAUS) was developed as a continuous, reliable, valid, and acceptable measure for primary prevention studies. Items were written following a comprehensive review of the literature on alcohol dependence and alcoholism. Based upon the responses of 315 respondents to the 100-item initial version of the scale, the 45-item CAUS was developed. The CAUS was then cross-validated on a local sample (n = 274) and a provincial sample (n = 745). Estimates of internal consistency were .91, .96, and .94, respectively, for the initial and cross-validation samples. Correlations of .48 and .69 were obtained between the CAUS and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test for the initial and local cross-validation samples. In the provincial cross-validation sample a correlation of .62 was obtained between the CAUS and the Usual Weekly Alcohol Index. Preliminary cutting scores were developed to identify those at risk for alcoholism, and alcoholics. The CAUS has potential use as an evaluative and predictive instrument in a variety of primary prevention programs.

The Reaction Inventory-Interference was developed to identify obsessional thoughts and compulsive acts, which interfere with an individual's daily activities. The 50 items in the inventory were administered to 172 Ss. On the basis of item test correlations, 40 items were retained for subsequent analyses. The estimate of internal consistency for the 40 item inventory was .95. The correlation between the 40-item inventory and the "symptom" score on the Leyton Obsessional Inventory was .66. Factor analysis of the 40-item inventory yielded nine factors.